Your wedding invitation is the first thing your guests actually hold. Before they step foot in the venue, before they see the florals or the first song plays, this tangible first impression lands in their hands and tells them everything about the kind of wedding you're having. And some couples spend more time agonizing over chair rentals than they do on the thirty words that define the experience before it even begins.
Wording is a design decision. It shapes the layout, sets the tone, and works with (or against) every other element in your suite. This guide walks through what to include, how formality actually works, how to make your invitation sound like you, and why the paper you print it on matters more than you think.
What to include in a wedding invitation
Five things you have to include:
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The names of the people getting married
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The date
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The time
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The venue name and location
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RSVP details
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Weekend events
Everything else is optional. Optional doesn't mean unimportant, but it does mean you get to decide.
The non-negotiables:
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Names (and host line, if applicable)
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Date and day of the week
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Ceremony start time
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Full venue name, city and state
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RSVP instructions: deadline, mail-in reply, or website URL
Worth considering:
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Dress code (state it cleanly, don't bury it)
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Your wedding website
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Weekend events card with event details
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An accommodation or travel insert for destination guests
Formality is the real filter here. A black-tie ballroom wedding calls for a full host line, spelled-out dates, and zero clutter. A casual celebration can breathe a little. Neither is wrong. They're just different conversations.
One thing we'd always recommend: build out a full suite. The invitation carries the essentials. Insert cards handle everything else, travel logistics, weekend event timelines, reply details, so your main piece stays clean and does its job without turning into a brochure.
Wording by formality level
Formal / Traditional
Formal invitations have conventions for a reason. They've been doing this for a long time, and the language signals the weight of the occasion in a way that "you're invited!" simply doesn't.
The host line comes first and names whoever is hosting: traditionally the bride's parents, though modern couples do this every which way. Both families co-hosting? List them all. Couple hosting themselves? The phrasing shifts. The key is that whoever's named at the top sets the register for everything that follows.
A quick note that comes up more than you'd think: "request the honor of your presence" traditionally signals a religious ceremony, while "request the pleasure of your company" is used for civil ceremonies. Most couples today just use whichever phrasing feels right, and nobody's grading them.
Example: Traditional with both families hosting
Mr. and Mrs. James Holloway
and Mr. and Mrs. Robert Callahan
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of their children
Eleanor Grace Holloway
and
William Thomas Callahan
Saturday, the fourteenth of September
two thousand twenty-seven
at six o'clock in the evening
Ojai Valley Inn
Ojai, California
Reception to follow
Example: Couple hosting their own
Together with their families
Mara Johansson
and
Oliver Reed
joyfully invite you to celebrate their marriage
Saturday, September fourteenth
at six in the evening
Ojai Valley Inn
Ojai, California
Dinner and dancing to follow
Semi-formal / Modern
The sweet spot for most couples right now. Semi-formal wording is warm without being casual, personal without being precious, and it handles the actual texture of modern family structures (divorced parents, blended families, couples footing the bill themselves) without making anyone feel weird about it.
Example: Modern, hosting together
Mara Johansson
and
Oliver Reed
invite you to join them
as they get married
September 14, 2026
Six o'clock in the evening
Ojai Valley Inn
Ojai, California
Dinner and dancing to follow
Example: Divorced parents, both acknowledged
Mrs. Caroline Johansson
Mr. Henrik Johansson
invite you to celebrate the marriage of their daughter
Mara Christine
to
Oliver David Reed
son of Mrs. Barbara and Mr. James Reed
Separate lines with no “and” for parents who are no longer together. Clean, clear, no drama.
Casual / Relaxed
For intimate celebrations and outdoor weddings where the whole vibe is "we just want everyone we love in one place." The invitation should feel like it came from the couple, not from a stationery template that has never met them.
The one pitfall: casual is not the same as careless. Wording that tries to sound relaxed often reads strained. Read it out loud. If it sounds like a real, excited person talking, keep it. If it sounds like a brand attempting to seem human, start over.
Example: Casual outdoor wedding
Mara + Oliver
are getting married
and they really want you there.
September 14, 2025
6 pm
Ojai Valley Inn
Ojai, California
Dinner, dancing, and an open bar 🍾
Example: Destination wedding, relaxed
Pack your bags! 🌴
Mara Johansson
and
Oliver Reed
are getting married in Mexico
and the whole thing is going to be beautiful.
February 8, 2026
Four o'clock in the afternoon
Viceroy Los Cabos
San José del Cabo, Baja California Sur
Details and travel information enclosed.
How to make your wording stand out
The examples above are starting points. Here's how to push them somewhere more interesting.
Actually use your voices. If you and your partner have a way of speaking, a phrase that's yours, a shared sense of humor, some version of that belongs in the suite. You don't have to turn a formal invitation into a comedy bit. One unexpected line, a genuinely personal closing, a single detail that could only be yours, that's all it takes to make a template feel like a real thing.
Bring in the place or the season. "As the summer winds down on the Vineyard" or "under the desert sky at dusk" adds texture that a date alone can't. It tells guests something about what they're walking into before they even get there.
Add a line of intention. Some couples include a brief line about the day: "We can't wait to celebrate with everyone we love in one place" or simply "We want you there." It doesn't need to be poetic. Genuine always beats polished.
Think about length before layout is locked. This is the design piece most couples miss entirely. The number of lines, the length of each line, the shape of the text block on the page, all of this affects how the invitation actually looks when it's printed. In letterpress especially, wording length determines plate size, spacing, and visual weight. Add a sentence after the plates are made and you've got a problem. Work through your wording before the design is finalized, not after.
At Swell Press, the wording conversation happens early and on purpose. Every collection suite is built so the typography and copy work as one thing, and we walk you through the wording as part of your design proof. Explore our invitation collections or reach out to start talking.
When to send wedding invitations
Worst-case scenario: 6 to 8 weeks before the wedding. Give your friends and family enough time for them to arrange travel, request time off, and RSVP without scrambling.
Destination weddings, holiday weekends, or anything requiring flights: 3 to 4 months out. Your guests have lives. Give them time to actually come.
Save-the-dates go out well before that: 6 to 12 months ahead for destination events and peak travel seasons, 4 to 6 months out for local celebrations. They hold the date before your formal invitation is ready, and they're your first design moment ✨. A strong save-the-date sets the tone and makes people excited before they know a single detail.
The letterpress caveat: custom printing has a real timeline. Design proofing, revision rounds, production, finishing touches like envelope liners and assembly components, it adds up. Plan for 6 to 8 weeks from first proof to suites in hand, sometimes more. Don't set your mailing date before you've built that in.
Outer envelope basics:
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Married couple, same last name: Mr. and Mrs. James Holloway
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Same-sex couple, same last name: Mr. and Mr. James Holloway, or Mrs. and Mrs. Montoya
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Married couple, different last names: Ms. Caroline Bauer and Mr. James Holloway,
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Same-sex couple, different last names: Mr. Alex Hoff and Mr. James Holloway, or Mrs. Alexis Hoff and Mrs. Taylor Montoya
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Unmarried couple, living together: names on separate lines
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Single guest with a plus one: "Name and Guest" if you don't know the plus one's name
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Children: parents on the top, children’s names listed under the parents
A few optional things to think about:
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Spell out "Street," "Avenue," "Boulevard." No abbreviations on a formal outer envelope.
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Use full titles where they apply: Doctor, The Honorable.
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Spell out state names for formal suites.
On calligraphy vs. printed addressing: both are genuinely beautiful. Hand calligraphy has a warmth nothing else quite replicates. Printed addressing in the right typeface is clean, consistent, and far more practical for larger guest lists. We offer digital guest addressing for our collection suites, matched to the suite's type system so the envelope reads as part of the same piece, not an afterthought.
Why letterpress wording is different
There's something that happens when type is pressed into thick cotton paper. The words stop being flat. They have depth, weight, and texture you can feel with your fingertip. Guests don't just read an invitation. They notice it ❤️
The typeface carries the tone of the wording. A fine serif on a formal invitation reads as restrained elegance. A warmer, slightly rounder font on a casual outdoor wedding softens the whole thing. Ink color does the same work: deep navy is formal, warm terracotta is earthy, a punchy coral is playful and confident. These aren't decorative choices. They're part of the message, doing just as much work as the words themselves.
At Swell Press, we hand-mix every ink color, print in-house on tree-free cotton paper, and manage the full process from first proof to final suite. That in-house control means the color, the impression depth, and the finish are right every time, not close, right. Every collection suite is designed so the typography, layout, and wording work as a unified composition. Nothing is an afterthought!
Explore our invitation collections or get in touch to talk through your suite.
Faq: Wedding Invitation Wording
What is the proper wording for a formal wedding invitation?
A formal invitation opens with a host line (the people hosting the celebration), followed by the request phrase ("request the honor of your presence"), the couple's full names, the date spelled out completely (Saturday, the fourteenth of September, two thousand twenty-five), the time in words (at six o'clock in the evening), and the full venue name and location. Reception information goes at the bottom, or on a separate insert card for a cleaner look.
How do you word a wedding invitation when parents are not hosting?
Open with the couple's names and a phrase that sounds like them: "Together with their families, [Names] invite you to celebrate their marriage" covers it cleanly. Or simply "[Names] joyfully invite you to join them." No need to name parents on the main invitation if they're not hosting, though you can acknowledge families in other places if you want to.
Can wedding invitation wording be funny or casual?
Yes! And it works best when it actually sounds like the couple rather than "a couple trying to be funny." One genuinely unexpected line, a closing that could only be theirs, a tone that matches how they actually talk: that's the move. A fully jokey invitation tends to undercut itself. Specificity and sincerity do more than punchlines.
What should not be included on a wedding invitation?
Registry information doesn't go on the invitation. That lives on your wedding website and gets passed around verbally. Gift expectations, awkwardly worded dress code hints buried in the body copy, or a wall of logistical details all belong elsewhere. Insert cards exist for a reason. Keep the invitation clean, and let every piece in the suite do its own job.
The words and the paper are one decision. When wording, typography, paper weight, and printing technique are all working together, the invitation becomes something guests keep. That's the standard we hold ourselves to with every suite we make.
Explore our invitation collections or start your custom design 💌